In many fields, the need exists to quickly connect or disconnect two items such as the end of a pet leash to the collar of a pet, or two straps of a halter for a horse. There has been a universally accepted snap hook which has traditionally been used for such purposes. This hook, which would be carried at the end of one of the items, is j-shaped in configuration having an arm with a hook which is designed to engage the other item formed at one end of the arm. A spring-loaded clasp arm has one end carried at the other end of the arm with its other end being selectively engageable with the open portion of the hook. When engaging an item, the clasp arm is biased against the hook to confine the item within the hook. By applying a force to the clasp arm, it can be moved away from the hook, and the item that was previously being engaged can be removed from the space formed between the clasp arm and the hook.
While these types of snap hooks have served their purpose in many applications for many years, they are not without their problems for at least some applications. In particular, the spring tension on the clasp arm must be strong enough to maintain the item within the hook while at the same time not be so strong as to make it difficult for the user to open the snap. Thus, oftentimes when a quick connecting or disconnecting snap is desirable, the minimal tension on the clasp arm to enable one to perform the task quickly is insufficient to prevent accidental unhooking of the item.
When employed in applications such as to attach the open ends of a horse halter to affix the halter to the horse, such problems are compounded because the junction must be strong, yet the hooking action must take place quickly before the horse determines that it does not want to receive the halter. Moreover, when these snap hooks were first employed on halters, the clasp arm was positioned facing away from the body of the horse. As such, movement of the horse might allow the clasp arm to come into contact with an item, such as the fence of a pasture, which could either open the halter and release the horse, or cause the hook to engage the fence thereby attaching the horse to the fence. As a result of this potential hazard, more recently the snap hooks have been turned around so that the clasp arm is against the body of the horse. However, not only does such a positioning make it harder to move the clasp arm, but also this positioning can cause an irritable rubbing on the body of the horse.
The need exists, therefore, for a snap connector which can be universally used for all applications while at the same time be acceptable for certain specialized applications such as for the halter of a horse.